A Weekend at Blenheim: A Novel [Paperback]

J. P. Morrissey (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2003

In this enthralling and atmospheric tale of murder, revenge, and redemption, a young American struggles to make sense of a world he does not understand, where the price of acceptance may be murder.

John Vanbrugh is an outsider in the England of 1905: A determined but unsuccessful American architect, he has moved to London to make a new life for himself and his wife, Margaret. When he receives an unexpected summons to meet the dazzling Duchess of Marlborough at Blenheim Palace, he is skeptical.

The young duchess, Vanbrugh comes to understand, has her reasons. Like him, she is American-born: Consuelo Vanderbilt, one of the richest debutantes in America. Seemingly on impulse, the duchess hires Vanbrugh to renovate her rooms at Blenheim--a plum job Vanbrugh accepts. He and his wife join the weekend party at Blenheim, a group that includes the foul-tempered duke; his young cousin Winston Churchill; the society painter John Singer Sargent; the duchess’s mother and American suffragette, Mrs. O.H.P. Belmont; Gladys Deacon, an American friend of the duchess; and the enigmatic Catholic Monsignor Vay de Vaya.

Almost as soon as he begins work at Blenheim, Vanbrugh uncovers a series of unsettling letters that hint at a long-concealed deceit. As he tries to grasp the meaning of this discovery, a sketchbook owned by Sargent is stolen and a young housemaid is found in the courtyard, strangled. It is then that Vanbrugh realizes he is caught in a maze of duplicity and manipulation with no way out. Struggling to uncover the treachery he sees around him, Vanbrugh is forced to reevaluate everything he thought about Blenheim, himself, even the very nature of truth.

Part mystery, part gothic morality tale, A Weekend at Blenheim is a compelling, mesmerizing, deeply satisfying novel.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Despite its glorious setting (Blenheim, the ancestral seat of the Duke of Marlborough, in 1905) and elegant cast (Charles Spencer-Churchill and his duchess, Consuelo Churchill, n‚e Vanderbilt; the duke's cousin, Winston Churchill; the painter John Singer Sargent), this period piece lacks refinement. Hired to redo the duchess's living quarters in the palace, John Vanbrugh, a young American architect, uncovers a cryptic message whose meaning and potential import careen the narrative into a vast set of intrigues the murder of a young maidservant, a missing sketchbook of compromising nudes, multiple affairs of the heart, even the legitimacy of the dukedom itself. Though generally suspenseful and entertaining, the book feels over-engineered, with its byzantine plot and often forced or contrived logic. Moreover, the droll, witty tone is at odds with the seriousness of the action as well as with the decadence of the duke and duchess and their hangers-on. The intelligent, prudish Vanbrugh is disgusted by the lifestyles of the rich and famous he encounters at Blenheim, but he comes across as more of a prig than a moralist. More than a few readers may find it in dubious taste that Morrissey ascribes some monstrous behavior to the duke and duchess, who were after all real people. Without a truly sympathetic character to engage the reader, the story, like the palace itself, comes off as unpleasant and unappealing. (Mar. 25)Forecast: Plugs from such class acts as William F. Buckley Jr. and Iain Pears, as well as the perennial appeal of the doings of decadent British aristocracy (e.g., Gosford Park), should ensure a strong start. The author's being a New York editor and writer won't hurt either.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

In 1905, Consuelo Vanderbilt, the Duchess of Marlborough, invites fellow American John Vanbrugh to remodel her rooms at Blenheim Palace because a much earlier John Vanbrugh originally designed the palace. Delighted and somewhat smitten (though married), John encounters several intriguing puzzles while staying at Blenheim: hidden letters revealing a long-ago love triangle, a missing sketchbook belonging to famous portrait painter John Singer Sargent, a beautiful American trying to snag the duke, and a strangled housemaid. Historical characters also include a young Winston Churchill. Morrissey's incredible knowledge of period, place, and events makes this first mystery a special treat.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Minotaur Books (March 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312311389
• ISBN-13: 978-0312311384
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,501,460 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I'm glad I didn't listen to the carping -- I loved it., August 22, 2003

By 

R. Tiedemann "Sunnye" (Bellevue, NE USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Weekend at Blenheim: A Novel (Hardcover)

I was rather prepared to dislike this book after reading Publisher's Weekly put-downs and Amazon's sheep-like follow-ups but soldiered on to see what all the fuss was about -- and loved A Weekend at Blenheim! I thought the premise (that the dukedom itself might be in question) delightful, the suspense artful, the characters delightfully deceitful (and so typical of the British upperclass) and overall, the book one of the most entertaining and enthralling I've come upon in a long time.

I'm so glad I didn't let carping like PW's "overengineered" and "improbable" stop me. (DUH -- this is fiction!) And this holier-than-thou statement: "More than a few readers may find it in dubious taste that Morrisey ascribes some monstrous behavior to the Duke and Duchess who, after all, were real people" overlooks the fact that the monstrous behavior referred to (affairs and rudeness to others) were a documented part of their lives as it was the lives of others of their class.

The book is a page-turner; with real-life characters doing fictional but all-too-real things. The story is fabulous, beautifully timed, calculatingly told and a thoroughly delightful read. The slightly formal language of the book is that of Edwardian England, which adds a certain charm to the reading experience. Phooey on the nay-sayers. This one's a keeper!

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I was hooked in spite of my reservations, March 29, 2002

By 

tregatt (Portland, Oregon) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Weekend at Blenheim: A Novel (Hardcover)

"Weekend at Blenheim" reminded me very much of the works by Henry James (without James's tedious prose) and Edith Wharton (without Wharton's wit and elegance). The basic plot premise -- an innocent young American caught up in the machinations of the rich and the powerful) will remind every one of James's and Wharton's works. And while I did enjoy "Weekend in Blenheim," I have to own that it did unwind at a rather slow and somewhat deadened rate, and this sometimes made me skim the pages (esp the first few chapters), till I got to the more meatier bits

Through the good offices of his father-in-law, architect John Vanbrugh, has been commissioned by the Duchess of Marlborough (the American born Consuelo Vanderbilt) to redo her rooms. Vanbrugh is of course flattered and excited: this could be the commission that turns his career around completely. But the atmosphere at Blenheim is anything but conducive to brilliant redesigning ideas -- while the duchess is everything that is charming and gracious, the duke appears to be rude and abrasive. And Vanbrugh soon finds himself in the middle of a power struggle between the duke and duchess involving John Singer Sargents's missing sketch book, and a series of letters that Vanbrugh finds in the duchess's rooms that puts the entire legitimacy of the Marlborough house into question. And then one of the maid's is brutally murdered. Did her death have anything to do with the letters, missing sketch book and the power struggle going on between the duke and duchess? The duke tries to sweep the maid's murder under the carpet by throwing the blame on another servant. Vanbrugh is appalled, and does not at all buy into so pat a solution. And he is determined to discover who actually murdered the maid and why. Suddenly this commission instead of making Vanbrugh's career seems to have taken a rather deadly aspect instead.

While I am a bit of an anglophile, I'm not a blind fan either. And I've never particularly liked Winston Churchill in spite of his brilliant work during WWII. But I did find myself feeling a little leery about all the things that Morrisey attributes to the duke, duchess, Churchill, etc. Much of it bordered on the slanderous (esp when it touched on the murder and the tragedy that ensues). Another difficulty with this novel was that it was a rather hard to take Vanbrugh (our erstwhile hero) to heart. From almost from the first page, where he describes his unhappily pregnant wife in almost peevish tones, I found him to be a rather unsympathetic individual. This impression did not change very much in the ensuing chapters. Vanbrugh's wife, Margaret, however becomes more interesting a character as the book reaches it's climax. But certain bits of information about how much Margaret actually knows and understands and her motives for acting in a certain way, remain obscure to the very end, and left me feeling a little shortchanged. However, it spite of these few quirks, I must admit once the novel took off, I was hooked. The second half of the novel, from the murder of the unfortunate housemaid onwards was an engrossing and compelling read -- so atmospheric that you can actually feel the violence and anger that propels certain characters to act as they do.

In spite of certain reservations I had, I'd have to say that this novel is a must read. I was hooked not so much by the mystery of who killed the maid and why, but by the ambiance as well as the rather unlikeable characters and their actions and motivations.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Real Page Turner, February 12, 2004

By 

Judith Noone (Rome, New York USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Weekend at Blenheim: A Novel (Paperback)

Just want to say that Sunnye Tiedemann's review was right on the mark. I, too, couldn't decide whether to buy the book having read the review from Publishers Weekly, but it was inexpensive so I took a chance on a writer I had not read before. It was a very good book. The characters, for the most part, were real historical figures and the plot was believeable. Having been to Blenheim myself I could visualize the land around it.

It is good thing not to take as gospel some of the reviews that are written by the professionals. Go with your gut feeling and take a chance, especially if it doesn't cost too much. You might be in for a wonderful surprise.